Techniques of Close Reading

Techniques of Close Reading is a brief, supplemental text that trains students in an ability to see what texts--be they written, oral, visual, or mediated--may be saying. Renown scholar and teacher Barry Brummett explains and explores the various ways to read messages (speeches, cartoons, magazine ads, etc.), teaching students the ability to see deeper levels of meaning and to share those insights with others. Techniques of Close Reading differs from other books in rhetorical criticism, textual analysis, or critical thinking by: - Focusing on the act and techniques of criticism rather than on schools of thought, grand theories, and specific methods, thus helping students to engage in the act of critical close reading in ways that are congenial to a wide range of methods (for that reason, it is highly adaptable to other texts currently in use that are focused on specific methods) - Explaining the relationships among theory, methods, and techniques of rhetorical criticism - Examining the ethics and risk of doing and reading rhetorical criticism via plenty of examples, figures, and exercises taken from everyday life

Techniques of Close Reading, Second Edition helps students gain a deeper understanding of what texts may be saying, whether they are written, oral, visual, or mediated. Renowned scholar and professor Barry Brummett explains and explores the various ways to "read" messages (such as speeches, cartoons, or magazine ads), teaching students how to see deeper levels of meaning and to share those insights with others. Students learn techniques for discovering form, rhetorical tropes, argument, and ideologies within texts. New to the Second Edition: A new Chapter 6 includes a selection of techniques from each chapter to show students how different techniques may be used together when reading text. A close reading of a group of ads from the insurance company, Liberty Mutual, offers students an opportunity to apply the techniques to recent texts.